The $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie
This recipe for Neiman Marcus cookies hails from the popular email chain that flooded the Internet for years. The cookies are made with ground oats, chocolate chips, grated chocolate and chopped walnuts.
In the event that you have never seen the email chain regarding Neiman Marcus cookies, here’s a recap:
Supposedly, a woman ordered a cookie at the Neiman Marcus cafe and loved it so much that she asked the waitress if she could have the recipe; waitress said it would cost “two fifty”. The woman assumed it was $2.50, said okay, and the waitress gave her the recipe. When she saw her credit card bill, however, the charge was $250. She was so irate that she decided to distribute the recipe so that no one would ever pay $250 for the recipe again. The company has since debunked the rumor (and even published its own chocolate chip cookie recipe), but the recipe that accompanied that email became insanely popular.
I suspect that many of you are very familiar with this email and may have even made these cookies before. I received the email dozens of times before I actually gave the recipe a whirl. I’ve never eaten a Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie, but I sure do love this version!
The “secret ingredient” in these cookies is the oats. Not just regular ol’ oats mixed into the batter, though; what makes these Neiman Marcus cookies so special is that the oats are blended into a coarse powder and whisked together with the flour and other dry ingredients. This is absolutely brilliant – you get all of the wonderful, nutty flavor of the oats while maintaining the texture of a traditional chocolate chip cookie.
The original Neiman Marcus cookie recipe that was circulated calls for grating a Hershey’s chocolate bar; the first time that I made these, I simply replaced that line item with milk chocolate chips. Oh, I was totally missing out! I’ve since made them the correct way and those little bits and swirls of milk chocolate make these extra-special. Definitely do not swap that out! (You can, however, use finely chopped milk chocolate in place of the Hershey’s bar, if you’d like.)
The resulting cookies are chunky, hearty and feel quite substantial when picked up. The combination of semisweet and milk chocolate along with walnuts puts these over the top. The Neiman Marcus story may have turned out to be a myth, but out there somewhere is someone who needs to be thanked for this recipe!
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Watch How to Make Neiman Marcus Cookies:
The $250 Neiman Marcus Cookie
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (202.5 g) rolled oats
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) milk chocolate, grated or finely chopped
- 1½ cups (175.5 g) chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Blend the oats in a food processor or blender to a fine powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together the blended oats with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips, grated chocolate and walnuts.
- Roll the dough into 2-ounce balls (or about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls worth) and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are set but the center still looks undone, about 10 minutes. Cool the cookies completely on the baking sheets. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days (they can also be frozen for up to 2 months).
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on September 21, 2009.
This is a great recipe, my favorite choc chip cookie one! If I could make a suggestion to list the ingredients in order of use, it makes more sense.
I’ve got news for you, This same recipe was published way before 2009. I was teaching at McClymins High in Oakland during the 1989-90 school year. In April of 1990, I looked in my teacher mail slot at the school and found a mimeographed paper from an elderly male math teacher that said, “To all female staff members.” The paper conveyed both the recipie and the story behind it. The woman who purchased the recipe was “Mrs. Thos Dyer”
I’ve made these since the 90’s. Always a hit. I have added a tsp of espresso powder to help enhance the chocolate flavor. I roll them into balls using a std cookie scoop and refrigerate them overnight before baking.
The balls freeze well, just thaw them out in the fridge. The weights in the above recipe may be off a bit. I used the weight conversion chart from King Author. Sugar – 198g, Brown Sugar – 213g, flour – 240g, Oats – 247g, Walnuts 169g.
The story is actually true – it was my 4th grade teacher that it happened too. I very clearly remember her telling us the story.
No it didn’t! What a liar.This was an advertising ploy to get people to try their cookies. I worked in the marketing department for Neiman-Marcus. Try again
I followed this recipe to a T, but they came out really flat. Any foodies know what could have gone wrong? They taste good, just don’t look good.
Soften butter at room temperature, however keep it slightly chilled. It only takes a couple of minutes to cream butter and sugar. Don’t overdo it. Same goes for incorporating dry ingredients. Mix only until incorporated. Roll into balls and refrigerated. With 2oz balls, it’ll take just at 10 minutes to bake. They’ll come out much taller.
Very tasty, the oats really add a lot to the flavour profile. I follow the recipe entirely by weight and differently from a lot of people in the comments mine are usually a bit too wet to roll – they must be spooned and dropped.
No egg in ingredients
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I’ve been making these for many years. They are amazing! I like a crispy cookie sometimes so will bake longer and not make big balls. Regardless they’re awesome!
I’m highly amused by your statement that this is from a “popular email chain”! I believe I first received this recipe in the 1980s, well before anyone knew anything about email. Nonetheless, a good recipe and a good story.
Okay – important to weigh oats once pulverized in food processor so you’re getting 202 grams. Also, 2 cups of flour is 221 grams, not 250 (as stated on recipe).
And ensure the brown sugar is lightly packed when measured. Brown sugar is more wet – I reduced white sugar by 55 grams and increased weight on brown sugar by 55 grams.
This should yield less dry cookies.
Made this recipe for the first time (with a few adjustments) and the cookies turned out amazing!! After reading the comments, I decided to add an extra 1/2 cup of butter and an additional egg to make the batter less dense. I would also recommend having milk on hand in case you need it but I didn’t end up using any.
This is not your traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe in that it’s going to be ooey gooey in the middle. However, I personally like this better because of the texture. The blended oats really make a difference but it’s probably the reason why the mix tends to run dry. Next time, I will probably do 1.5-2 cups instead. I would also chop my walnuts less finely because I personally like having larger chunks for a better texture.
My biggest recommendation is if you can, try to make the recipe exactly as written the first time. Down to the way it’s meant to be cooked with the middle slightly undone and left to cool on a cookie sheet. I think if you do it that way, you’re less likely to get a dry cookie.
I’ve actually had someone make me this recipe several times before and it always turned out great. The only thing is that the cookie can get a little dry after a few days so it’s best eaten fresh or within 48 hours. More than that, it can be crumbly if you don’t make adjustments to the recipe.
Notes: These cookies do not spread out very much when you bake them. I refrigerated my batter over night and baked them the next day. Make sure to rotate the cookie sheets for even baking.
Excellent. My kids at them before I could snap a photo. Sorry!
I think I’ve found an issue with the recipe, and I’m hoping I can find some help. This might also relate to why some folks are reporting that this cookie dough is coming out so dry. The recipe says to grind 2.5 cups (measured by volume) of oats, and the weight is supposed to be 202.5 grams. I do all my measurements using weight (when I can). After I ground the 2.5 cups of Old Fashioned Oats, I checked the weight, and found that it yielded 310 grams of ground oats, which is certainly way more than the 202.5 listed in the recipe. Which is correct? The weight or the volume? If the target weight of ground oats is 202.5 grams, folks should be using around 2 cups of oats. As always, weight is the better way to measure (because density changes the volume so much), but since I haven’t make this yet, I don’t know one is the better choice for this recipe. Feedback?
My grandsons “don’t like nuts” so I put the walnuts in with the oatmeal to be finely ground. We got the nut flavor without any offendingly detectable nuts. The recipe is delicious!
Going to make them asap but wanted to ask. Has anyone browned the butter? If yes, was is awesome? I’ll make that change in the recipe when i make them.
Of all the versions of this recipe that I’ve found, This one is the closest to what I use. I’ve been tweaking mine for 20 years. I use Belgian chunks (Aldi has these in Dark and Semi-sweet…not expensive and big!) and add 1/4 cup milk after the flour and oatmeal mix, before folding in nuts and chocolate.
The cookies are good, too bad the story is full of raisins.
Neinam doesn’t sell cookies….
Neiman Marcus most certainly does sell cookies — When they have them in stock. Check out:
https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/Neiman-Marcus-NM-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-Gourmet-Food-prod190920275
My mom used to make these back when it was a email forward. It has been our favorite cookie recipe ever since, and now I make them for special occasions. The original story about Neiman Marcus is crap, so it’s surprising how great this recipe is!
I made these cookies for 4 disabled women and my family, I couldn’t believe how many you get. All of them loved them
I made these 1996 my craving while pregnant with my now 23 yr. old son. Easy to make and a absolutely #1 gift to make for any occasion. Thank you
These cookies are absolutely SINFUL!!! I’ve tried these cookies once back in 2009 at an office holiday party and I know I had to have eat at least 20 of them over the course of the day, ever since I’ve wanted to make them, but they also scare me because I have no will power with these cookies!!
Not only did my cookies turn out perfect I loved the process of making them. My family said they’re the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Thanks for the recipe!
This is my go to recipe for Neiman Marcus cookies!
I made the $250 Neiman Marcus Cookies, I followed the directions. Why are my cookies brown and picture shown is not? Looks like the grated chocolate is not added in the photo shown.
This mix was very dry. The first time I baked cookies with my 2 year old grandson – I should have stuck with the standard chocolate chip cookie recipe. Definitely needs more butter
Wow! Thanks for such a great recipe. I see the dissatisfaction within some of the reviews and I can’t help but come to the conclusion that it was truly at the hand of the baker and not the recipe! I do have some suggestions for you though, if your willing to accept them. I followed your recipe just not the recommended creaming time! I creamed for about 5-6 minutes and that truly made the mixture soft. Other than that, I really enjoyed this recipe!
Are there any changes in the ingredients for high altitude?